Chapter 59: Big Brother
After classes ended on Friday, Ye Zhile went home. Wen Yumo personally cooked the dishes Ye Zhile loved to eat. Once Ye Junting returned from work, the three of them sat down to eat, talking and laughing.
“Father, how are things over there?” Ye Zhile asked.
Ye Junting said, “Don’t worry. With the Supreme Leader holding the fort, Rhea Star doesn’t dare to rashly throw their lives away yet. Right now, everything is temporarily stable.”
Ye Zhile nodded. Wen Yumo put food in his bowl. “Don’t overthink it, trust them.”
“Mn,” Ye Zhile responded.
After eating, Ye Zhile returned to his own room. His room always had someone cleaning it, so even though he hadn’t lived there for a long time, everything was clean and fresh upon his return.
Ye Zhile lay on the bed. At this moment, Wen Yumo came in carrying a glass of milk. He sat up. “Dad.”
“Be good, drink the milk.” Wen Yumo handed it to him. Ye Zhile took it and drank it all obediently.
“These dark circles under your eyes are about to drop to the floor. Have you not been sleeping well these past few days?” Wen Yumo noticed his face was a bit pale. Ye Zhile shook his head and told the truth: “Not really, it’s just that I occasionally wake up in the middle of the night…”
Because he lacked the Enigma’s pheromones, Ye Zhile always slept uneasily. There were several times when he forced himself but still couldn’t fall asleep, so he would go hold the adult’s clothes to sleep.
Wen Yumo sighed. “Go take a shower first. Dad will sleep with you in a bit.”
“Okay.”
Wen Yumo’s pheromone was the scent of osmanthus. When he was little, Ye Zhile loved sleeping pressed against his Dad the most. He had never been a cause for worry since he was young; Wen Yumo only had to coax him a couple of times and he would obediently fall asleep.
Wen Yumo held him to sleep. Only after Ye Zhile fell asleep did he quietly head back.
Early the next morning, Wen Yumo took Ye Zhile to the temple to burn incense. It was a Saturday holiday, so there were many people. Wen Yumo and Ye Zhile wore masks and hats, blending into the crowd.
The mosque temple occupied a vast area. After entering the main gate, one had to keep walking inward, pass through several main halls, and climb a flight of stairs to reach the place for burning incense and worshipping Buddha.
Ye Zhile kneeled on the futon, pressing his palms together and praying earnestly. A moment later, he stood up, inserted the incense, and devoutly bowed again.
When they stepped out of the main hall, a light rain began to fall outside. There weren’t many people in the hall. The fangzhang came over and offered them to rest in the side courtyard until the rain stopped before leaving.
“Did this young benefactor go and pray for a peace amulet?” Seeing that Ye Zhile was young yet had his brows knitted in sorrow, the fangzhang showed some concern.
Ye Zhile shook his head. “Not yet.”
“Does the fangzhang have any insights?” Wen Yumo had caught the hidden meaning in the fangzhang‘s words.
The fangzhang had kind eyebrows and benevolent eyes. He smiled, “This laona has no insights. It’s just that seeing him so young yet so weighed down by worries, it shouldn’t be so.”
Ye Zhile smiled. “Thank you for your concern, fangzhang. I’m merely worried about my family.”
“Why must the young benefactor worry about distant places? Why not care about yourself?”
Ye Zhile was completely bewildered hearing this, and Wen Yumo also didn’t understand the fangzhang‘s meaning, merely thanking him: “Thank you, fangzhang.”
The fangzhang smiled and walked out.
The rain stopped, and the two walked out of the temple, got into the car, and headed home.
Ye Zhile examined himself. “Dad, is there anything different about me today?”
Wen Yumo shook his head and rubbed his head. “Still as good-looking as ever.”
“Then what did the fangzhang mean by those words?” Ye Zhile remained puzzled even after pondering over it a hundred times.
“Probably telling you to pay attention to your health, lest you fall ill from worry.”
Ye Zhile nodded. “Oh…”
Ye Zhile stayed for two days before returning to the Leader’s Manor. After that, he was busy with classes and writing his drafts. Before he knew it, a week had slipped by.
This day in the cafeteria, he and Leng Xingtu grabbed some buffet food. After eating, he belatedly felt like vomiting. Ye Zhile thought he had just eaten too much, rubbed his stomach, and ignored it.
Another week passed. The teacher assigned a group project, organizing everyone to go out and collect materials. Four people formed a group. Besides Ye Zhile and Leng Xingtu, there were two other girls.
Leng Xingtu wrote rapidly in his notebook, while Ye Zhile took photos. After a busy half-day, they returned to the bus, and the teacher let them grab boxed lunches themselves.
Ye Zhile was originally so hungry his stomach was pressed against his back, but the moment he saw that braised pork with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, he immediately bent to the side and vomited. He didn’t throw up anything substantial, just sour acid.
“What’s wrong?” Leng Xingtu set down his lunch box and patted his back.
Ye Zhile shook his head and closed the lunch box. “It’s nothing, suddenly I’m just not hungry anymore.”
After returning home, Ye Zhile didn’t even eat dinner and went straight upstairs to rest. He craved Ji Shuohan’s pheromones intensely. The clothes in his room had all been rummaged through to the point of being worn out. This person seemed as if he had never appeared, and his pheromones were vanishing bit by bit.
He hadn’t eaten much these past few days. Ye Zhile lacked mental energy and basically went home as soon as classes ended. He rarely even went to the library. Only, on this day, while waiting for the car at the school gate, he overheard someone else’s conversation.
“The commander of the Fifth Legion was attacked?!”
“Isn’t that Vice Minister Ye… Oh my god!”
“Mecha missiles…”
“I heard he’s already been sent back for emergency rescue.”
At this moment, the gazes of those people turned towards Ye Zhile. Ye Zhile froze in place. A moment later, he got into the car, just as the phone call came in.
When Ye Zhile rushed to the hospital, only his Dad, his Father, and several comrades-in-arms who escorted Ye Zhijin back were there. Ye Junting was currently holding Wen Yumo, who was sobbing uncontrollably. Ye Zhile walked over. “Big Brother, he…”
“He’s undergoing emergency rescue,” Ye Junting said.
Ye Zhile felt his legs go a bit weak. He took a deep breath and slid down against the wall to squat, staring blankly at the emergency room.
Second Brother hadn’t returned yet, and My Lord hadn’t returned yet.
It was unknown how long this emergency rescue lasted. Ye Zhile only knew that when the doors to the emergency room opened, the sky outside had already turned dark.
“Doctor, how is my son?” Ye Junting hurriedly stepped forward.
Ye Zhile supported himself against the wall to stand up, hearing the doctor say, “The patient is temporarily out of life-threatening danger, but he has multiple bone fractures and sharp-force puncture wounds all over his body. He will need to stay in the Intensive Care Unit for observation.”
“Okay, thank you for your hard work, Doctor,” Ye Junting said.
Ye Zhijin was transferred to the ICU. The whole family looked at him through the glass window. Seeing his Big Brother covered in tubes, Ye Zhile’s tears instantly fell.
“Why aren’t you eating?” That evening, Ye Junting had someone deliver food. Seeing Ye Zhile eat two bites and put it down, Wen Yumo looked at him. “What have you been busy with lately? You’ve lost weight.”
Ye Zhile’s eyes were red. He shook his head. “I haven’t been busy with anything.”
Afraid that Wen Yumo would worry, Ye Zhile didn’t dare say he couldn’t stomach the food. He picked up his bowl again and took a few bites, but it was like swallowing hot coals, hard to swallow.
In the end, Ye Zhile felt a wave of nausea. He ran to the bathroom and threw it all up. Leaning over the toilet, his tears also fell in tandem.
“Lele, are you alright?” Wen Yumo knocked on the door.
Ye Zhile quickly stood up, rinsed his mouth, and then walked out. Seeing his complexion wasn’t very good, Wen Yumo grabbed his shoulders. “Where are you feeling unwell?”
“Nowhere.” Ye Zhile forced a smile. “Just ate too much.”
Wen Yumo looked at him with heartache. “You head back in a bit. It’s enough to have me and your Father keeping watch here.”
Ye Zhile thought about it and nodded.
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